13 minute read
Data Bank: Numbers tell the story
DATA BANK
• Gas assist continuous height adjustment CREATE A HEALTHIER • 35 lbs lifting capacity • 13.8” height adjustment range (6.2” to 20”) • +10°/-10° Keyboard tilt adjustment MMM SD60B 35.4”x15.7” worksurface $469 MMM SD70B 42”x15.7” worksurface $559 Numbers tell the story 3M Precision Corner Desk
• Designed to fit 90” Corner WORK SPACE • Same specs as above MMM SD80B 42”x23.7” worksurface $585
ESI Sit to Stand
Ergonomic Seating • Weight adjustable pneumatic mechanism Options • 35 lbs lifting capacity • 16” height adjustment range (6” to 22”) • Compatible with Edge and Evolve monitor arms • 35.5”x21” worksurface ESI S2S $415 ISTOCK
In Stock Now!
ESI Climb • Top of the line all in one solution2.9 million square feet • • Flexible positioning on articulating arm 21 lbs lifting capacity • 17” height adjustment range (6” to 22”) • Monitor distance adjustable from 18” to 24” Adjustable Monitor Arms, Task Lighting Size of regional distribution center to be developed for Amazon at the Cortana Mall site • Main arm rotates and Keyboard Open Office Privacy Solutions Improve productivity and employee morale with these stylish customizable retrofit accessories. Merge Works Urban Wall • pneumatic mechanism • 35.5”x21” worksurface ESI CLIMBSLV Single Monitor $579 ESI CLIMB2SLV Double Monitor $692 esiergo.com/sit-to-stand/ Platforms9.52% [NO. 2] Louisiana’s average combined Completely customizable room dividersFootrests state and local sales tax rate and • Framework is durable lightweight aluminum extrusionFootrests help with proper ergonomic alignment for shorter folks. how it ranks among states • • Choose your height/width, mobile or stationary Dual position height adjustment • Ergo tilt • • Five core materials whiteboard, Free-floating platform • Ribbed Surface Customizable acoustic, acrylic, laminates, and fabric • Acoustic core is NRC rated .85 (85% of sound absorbed) • Hinge together to create 2, 3 or 4-way FEL 48121 $19.9950th ALE FS312 $24.79Privacy Walls configurations mergeworks.com/products/urbanWhere Louisiana ranks in gender pay equality among the 50 states and District of Columbia wall-room-dividers EchoDeco Wall Panels Control unwanted noise beautifully • 3/8” EchoScape material is available in 13 colors, backing the cutout designs Visit Our Showroom LOUISIANA OFFICE SOLUTIONS CO with a second sheet, creates a NRC rat33.1 $720 (women) • ed of .9 (90% of sound is absorbed) 3/4” EchoScape material is available in 7 colors and has a NRC rating of .9 and can’t be backed by a second layer Percentage growth in Louisiana $978 • Hang panels from an acoustical ceiling tile grid or directly mounted to a wall
GDP from Q2 to Q3 2020 (men) • Custom designs are available
mergeworks.com/products/echodeco-wall-panels
Median weekly earnings by gender in Louisiana
Let us help you create a space to maximize your Monday-Friday 8am-5pmcomfort and productivity while considering your 7643 Florida Blvd • Baton Rouge, LA 70806 budget. One workspace or an entire building, our team is here for you. 225.927-1110 • losco.com
between the pages
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LEANING INTO DISCOMFORT:
How inclusion fosters employee productivity
Creating a culture where people are respected and appreciated requires effort. In today’s globalized business environment, the benefits of diversity in the workplace are compelling. Whether you’re working at a small start-up or are part of a large multinational corporation, it’s a major investment to bring talent into your organization. So why bring them in if they’re not happy when they get here? There are strategies you can implement straight away to promote inclusion in your workplace.
Diversity and inclusion go hand in hand. Just talking about diversity can ruffle feathers as our culture is still evolving to one that is more tolerant of our differences. Diversity can take many forms, from culture and nationality to gender, race, sexuality, educational background, and more. If you can get the inclusion part right, the company benefits from fresh ideas, unique skills and higher employee engagement and productivity. Most often, the retention rate improves as a result of the environment you create—one where employees are allowed to flourish.
To some, inclusion is about respecting identities, along with people’s unique experiences and ideas, while others view diversity as a box to check, just meeting a quota for demographic representation. Think about the culture you want and how you can create one that is authentic to your brand and meets the needs of your employees. It’s great to hire people from different backgrounds, but even better when you leverage their strengths and build a truly cohesive team.
GET IN ON THE ACTION
• One Book One Community is back with The Yellow
House as its Spring 2021 title. Programs will begin late February, and will feature a visit from the author, Sarah M. Broom. Find out more at ebrpl.libguides.com/theyellowhouse. • “Black Baton Rouge Yesterday & Today: Looking
Back to Effectively Move Forward”
A Zoom panel discussing the history of Baton
Rouge Through an African American Lens on
Feb. 20 at 3 p.m. with Dr. Lori Martin and Dr. Chris
Tyson, moderated by Reverend Raymond Jetson; register at the online calendar at www.ebrpl.com or call 231-3750 for assistance.
Where to begin?
The best way to promote diversity in your workplace is by embracing it and working to build an understanding. Educate yourself and train your team with free help from the East Baton Rouge Parish Library. Learn to find common ground, deepen your appreciation of differences, and promote an inclusive and welcoming work environment with free Library resources of all kinds. Here are some places for you to begin, both in the Digital Library and beyond:
Udemy:
• Cross-Cultural Communication • Master Cognitive Biases • Digital Diversity • Navigate Diversity • Solid Foundations in Intercultural
Communication • Manage Diversity • Unconscious Bias: Fuel Diversity • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: A
Beginner’s Guide • Ally Up: Using Allyship to Advance
Diversity & Inclusion • A Diversity Deep-Dive, Leadership
Insights and Lessons • Navigate & Respect Age, Ethnic &
Racial Differences Free courses from Lynda.com:
• Confronting Racism • Developing a Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Program • Skills for Inclusive Conversations • Inclusive Leadership • Managing a Diverse Team • Cultivating Cultural Competence and Inclusion • Out and Proud: Approaching LGBT
Issues in the Workplace Gale eBooks:
• Black Lives Matter: From a Moment to a Movement • Confronting Racism • Inclusive Education • Embrace Differences Accel-5 has videos and summaries on:
• Cross-Cultural Leadership • Diversity • Inclusive Leadership Antiracism Booklist selections:
• How to be an Antiracist • White Fragility • So You Want to Talk About Race • The Color of Law • The Fire This Time EBRPL Anti-Racism Infoguide:
This guide was created in response to so many people within the Baton Rouge community asking what they can do to not only condemn racism, but how to be anti-racist. Understanding the uncomfortable feelings the subject can stir up, the guide aims to foster the desire and willingness to cultivate a better society as well as give readers the courage and motivation to learn.
3 THINGS TO KNOW: DR. STEPHANIE MILLS
Chief Medical Officer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana
1
She’s been a pediatrician, a hospital administrator and an entrepreneur. The most rewarding of these experiences, she says, has been launching InHealth Strategies, a boutique consulting company. “I was focusing on population health, and I had to build new skills, from marketing and sales to working with clients.”
2
Since Mills stepped into her new role with Blue Cross and Blue Shield in November, her top priority has been supporting local health care providers in the trenches and promoting COVID-19 prevention and vaccination. In the future, she’d like to focus on improving access to health care, developing transformative care models to ensure high-value care, and addressing some of the drivers of poor health outcomes in Louisiana.
FAVORITE THINGS:
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Running a farm
“Not many people know that we have a farm between Lafayette and Opelousas. We train English hunter jumper horses and ponies, and we have chickens, barn cats and a big garden.”
3
Her academic resume is impressive, to say the least. After graduating from LSU, Mills attended medical school at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and did her residency at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. Then, following years working as medical director of Our Lady of the Lake’s pediatric emergency department, she earned a master’s degree from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
COLLIN RICHIE
Rocca Pizzeria
“It’s fun and easy. Our family’s order: One margherita pizza and one pepperoni pizza with Brussels sprouts and the seasonal salad.”
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Short meetings
“It’s great to limit meetings, whenever possible, to 30 minutes. I try to have clear objectives and a defined agenda.”
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See You in a Hundred Years (book)
“It’s about how, in 2000, a New York reporter, his wife and son sold everything and moved to rural Virginia to live as if it were the year 1900. It’s a good reminder for us all to slow down and focus on the simpler things in life.”
Her backyard
“We live on the LSU lakes, so being able to walk and bike around them or just see them from the patio is my happy spot.”
Conrad Freeman
Founder, Freeman Handcrafted
WHAT THEY DO:
Furniture design studio ADDRESS:
568 Tuscaloosa Ave., Baton Rouge NEXT GOALS:
Increase marketing and planning
BLUEPRINT
Born and raised in Mandeville, Conrad Freeman comes from a family of artists and engineers. He moved to Baton Rouge to study sculpture at LSU and saw an opportunity to live creatively in the Capital Region, borrowing styles and concepts from the Pacific Northwest. As he progressed through school he returned to his art roots and began pursuing work with wood and metals, placing an emphasis on detail and craftsmanship. After graduation, Freeman worked two years for a custom fine furniture company in Downtown East, where he sharpened his talents and began to think about opening his own furniture design business. Then, in 2018, after being laid off from a cabinet shop, he called his wife saying it was time to pursue his business full time, and Freeman Handcrafted was founded.
HANDYMAN
Freeman worked in his carport for the first three months before finding a cheap shop in an abandoned building on North Foster Drive to operate his business from. In April, Freeman will celebrate two years in his current Mid City studio off North Street. “I see my business as a marriage between the mechanical part of myself and the creative parts. I’ve been leaning more toward the design world because I also see design as a mesh of those two things. My pieces need to be functional, attractive, useful, but also beautiful.” Over the last few years, he’s invested in machines to increase his capabilities and precision, as well as invested time into sharing his work online and on social media. He’s worked with local interior designers Colleen Waguespack and Kenneth Brown, and distinguishes himself with modern-style designs and high-quality workmanship.
DETAILING
As his business has grown, so has his vision for the future. This year, he’s putting a larger emphasis in marketing and planning, and has been researching historic design trends to widen his skill set. Though Freeman’s vision for the business has always been to operate as a furniture design studio, he dreams of one day opening a storefront with collections of furniture he designed. He plans to continue working with local architects and interior designers, which he says allows him to keep his shop small enough that he can continue to create handmade pieces and pay attention to quality and craftsmanship. “I want to do the business right, and if I’m going to be a person of integrity, I’ve got to do the best I can. I’ve always been artistically driven, but it’s my increasing technical skills that have driven me to design.” —By Holly Duchmann • Photography by Brian Baiamonte
PRODUCTS MADE FROM OIL
FAR MORE THAN JUST GASOLINE IS MADE FROM OIL
While approximately 40% of a barrel of oil is used to produce gasoline, the rest is used to produce a host of other products.
MEDICINE
Most over-thecounter medications, homeopathic products and vitamins are derived from benzine, a petroleum product. COSMETICS
Makeup and shampoo that has oils, perfumes, waxes and color all produced with the help of petrochemicals. PLASTICS
Almost all plastics are made from petrochemicals. from your iPhone to that bottle of water. It is 4-5% of the total petroleum consumption. SYNTHETIC RUBBER
Thousands of products rely on rubber such as shoes, tires, wet suits, breast implants, gloves, etc. CLEANING PRODUCTS
All those ingredients you can’t pronounce in the ingredients list of cleaning products being used to keep us safe from COVID-19. ASPHALT
There are over 11 million miles of paved road in the world. Asphalt is the glue that binds the minerals together.
RENEWABLE ENERGY PRODUCTS
Oil is necessary to produce components used to create renewable energy, from wind turbine parts and solar panels to batteries for electric cars.
OTHER PRODUCTS MADE FROM OIL
Clothing, Ink, Heart Valves, Crayons, Parachutes, Telephones, Antiseptics, Deodorant, Pantyhose, Rubbing Alcohol, Carpets, Hearing Aids, Motorcycle Helmets, Pillows, Shoes, Electrical Tape, Safety Glass, Nylon Rope, Fertilizers, Hair Coloring, Toilet Seats, Candles, Credit Cards, Aspirin, Golf Balls, Detergents, Sunglasses, Glue, Fishing Rods, Linoleum, Soft Contact Lenses, Trash Bags, Hand Lotion, Shampoo, Shaving Cream, Footballs, Paint Brushes, Balloons, Fan Belts, Umbrellas, Luggage, Antifreeze, Tires, Dishwashing Liquids, Toothbrushes, Toothpaste, Combs, Tents, Lipstick, Tennis Rackets, House Paint, Guitar Strings, Ammonia, Eyeglasses, Ice Chests, Life Jackets, Cameras, Artificial Turf, Artificial Limbs, Bandages, Dentures, Ballpoint Pens, Nail Polish, Caulking, Skis, Fishing Lures, Perfumes, Shoe Polish, Antihistamines, Cortisone, Dyes, Roofing, Jet Fuel, Heating Oil, etc.
Environmental Coatings Services
We’re not number one—you are!®
DESIGN
PELICAN STATE CREDIT UNION
2675 O’Neal Lane, Baton Rouge
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIM MUELLER
Owner: Pelican State Credit Union Architect: Labarre Architects Contractor: Labarre Architects Cost: $16 million Completed: July 2020 Use: Bank branch
FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION: “We created this building with our employees’ experience in mind. We wanted a place where they would be happy to come to work; a place where they feel valued. With this building we are hoping to see the start of a trend, making Baton Rouge a better place to live and work together.” —Jeffrey K. Conrad, CEO, Pelican State Credit Union 1. The three-story, 55,000-square-foot Pelican State Credit Union off O’Neal Lane, near the South
Harrells Ferry Road intersection, opened in October 2020. The building, which serves as both a corporate office and a full-service bank branch, is Louisiana’s first WELL-registered project, which is a performance-based system for measuring, certifying and monitoring building features that impact human health and well-being.
2. The Perch is the main break room, serving as a gathering place for company celebrations and events. Fresh fruit is provided each week, surfaces are antimicrobial and the vending machine holds healthy choice items as part of the WELL building standard certification. Smaller break rooms are also located throughout the three-story building.
3. The third floor features a fitness center, which is open to employees and includes showers and a locker room. Outside the building is a 5-foot-wide walking path around the campus grounds.
